If this is your first visit, welcome! Please note that you will need to
register
to use many of the site's best features, including downloading files and
posting messages. Until you register you can read any of the articles on
this page and also read messages in the forums.

Need help getting started? Please read our
Help For New Flightsimmers.
This will give you the info you need to get started flying and using
this web site.

X-plane 9 or Microsoft FSX?

I haven't really heard much about X-Plane, and seldom see it in stores, and don't think it's commercially much competition for Microsoft, but X-Plane has available a 7 occasionally ships with 7 DVDs of world scenery and takes up about 60 gig of space with full install, and I've heard tell of a future utility to stream satellite images from the internet as you fly over them.

It might not have the CPU straining graphics of FSX, but it has reflective water, cars, and even allows you to fly on Mars. And the textures look less saturated in X-Plane than in FSX.

Thanks for reminding me, X-plane happens to be installed on my system but I RARELY use it. The aircraft look very cheap, the only thing that looks good is the scenery, the airports and pretty much everything else has not been put much effort into.

I just played the latest demo, and the airport look a lot better than the airports in FSX. I could actually see variation in color (unlike the flat 1 tone fields of FSX), and it was full of polygons which didn't seem to slow my computer. But damned if I could figure out how to control it. I pushed every button 1-by-1 on my keyboard and couldn't even find a settings menu or even a "quit" screen, so I had to Ctl+Alt+Del and quit that way.

X-Plane is an excellent program. The newest version is really resource intensive and will do just as much slag as fsx with higest settings. What FSX lacks... X-Plane picks up, but what X-Plane lacks.. FSX picks up. Choose your weapon wisely.

X-Plane requires a more (geek) i-fied user than FSX. I would never suggest X-Plane to a new flight simmer simply becuase of the depth of the parameters and settings one can do with X-Plane. It's enough to drive one mad if they don't understand the basic concepts and the learning curve can be difficult to inexperienced ones.

X-Plane is a fun and stable program, and you can expect some hardships just like FSX. When it comes to scenery, terrain, realism, water effects.. you get more with FSX, but X-Plane is more stable as I said. Give or take.

Download the newest demo and check it out. Get into the menus to see whats really there and how you can manipulate the settings. Austin is a great guy and I think he is doing wonders for the simming community.

I hold X-Plane on the same level as FSX. It's a high quality sim. Each has its own quirks that one must decide on what they would rather live with or without when it comes to thier simming experience.

I have both of them, but I mainly fly FSX more. What FSX lacks mainly is the ability to use almost every button/feature of the airplane which X-Plane definitely has. My gripe with X-Plane is that the scenery is not that impressive (at least for me, and I setted it on MAX everything) and the cockpits are not complete like in FSX. The rest, X-Plane is probably more enjoyable.

Also, one fun thing is missing from X-Plane, and that is because it's a TRUE simulator - Missions.

In FSX, planes fly because the AIR file says they do. But in Xplane, you are actually modeling the movement of a shape in a fluid (air). So, at the more pure level, Xplane is the superior sim... Because of the two, it is the only one actually doing a simulation.

None the less, FSX is more fun, and better looking and more playable... And thats why it has the market...

In FSX, planes fly because the AIR file says they do. But in Xplane, you are actually modeling the movement of a shape in a fluid (air). So, at the more pure level, Xplane is the superior sim... Because of the two, it is the only one actually doing a simulation.

Yes, good point Kurt. It's always fun watching a new simmer try to stabilize the Cherokee for straight and level flight... lol.

I own a fsx demo and the full copy of x-plane (which i regularly flies!)
I think among the 2,x-plane is better as it simulates the environment,weather and the graphics are good.

However in FSX,you download ALL the scenery at 1 go (2 DVDs) which waste space as some scenery may not be needed but in X-Plane, 6 DVDs for version 9, the main installer let you choose the custom global scenery you want!

The aircraft are FLEXIBLE and you can edit,and create new ones! There is a World Editor that can create new airports and sceneries!
Indeed X-Plane is an easier Flight Simulator to learn, while FSX have to go through "tutorials", more like many computer games like HAWX and Ace Combat
FSX do not have forest fire-fighting,Frigates,oil rigs,space shuttle missions or Mars flight!-X-15 is payware and Space shuttle is separate download
Carrier Ops required the Gold Edition while X-Plane dosent require addons
It is worth spending A BIT of money on the X-Plane than buying FSX